Wildland Fire South Of Cal Expo Contained At 40 Acres

The fireworks show will go on at it's scheduled 9:30 p.m. time, but tonight's Sacramento Republic FC soccer match has been postponed due to the heavy smoke and poor air quailty. The fire burned just across the levy from Bonney Field at Cal Expo Friday afternoon.

UPDATE: 5:22 P.M.

The fire started about 2:15 Friday afternoon and has been burning grass and trees along Tribute Road on the south side of Cal Expo.

Fire crews are battling the blaze on the ground while helicopters drop water from the air. Sacramento City fire crews continue fighting a fire burning near Cal Expo.

Stables, the race track, Raging Waters, the bike trail, high power lines, everything on the south side were threatened. Fortunately, the blaze burned between the river and the levee, which have both acted as fire breaks.

Roberto Padilla with Sac City Fire Department says the conditions were perfect for this type of fire.

'Occasionally you get your hundred acre grass fire. But, this was not a grass fire. This was a full-blown wild-land fire in an urban setting. Luckily, we've trained for this, we have the resources. Our crews are very experienced at not only dealing with structure fire fighting but also wildland fire fighting."

At this time, the Cal Expo fireworks show will continue as scheduled.

Raging Waters and Bonney Field have been evacuated. But Sac City Fire say Cal Expo is no longer in danger.

Fire crews are setting backfires which continue to consume grass and trees. you'll see the smoke from this for some time. Firefighters plan to be on scene through the night and for the next few days.

Bob is the Sacramento Region Reporter. He has been at the forefront of the coverage of the Sacramento Kings' saga and the effort to build a new arena in Sacramento. He also covers education, business, environment, and sports stories. Read Full Bio